ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
ENV 100–ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND POLICIES
Brazilian Module
Developed by Ronald Fortney
Issues for Neotropical Environments
(With a Focus on Land Use Issues in Brazil
Goals for Students in this Module:
1. Using Brazil as the focal point, evaluate the short and long term impacts of current and past land use practices in the neotropics
2. Relate these impacts to past and present political and social-economic conditions in Brazil
3. Develop an argument and strategy for preserving/conserving Neotropical environments considering key ecological, political, and economic principles and realities.
4. Be able to discuss important environmental issues and policies affecting the Neotropics from an informed point of view and understand the points of views of others.
Objectives for the Module:
1. Describe the major Neotropical ecoregions in Brazil, including forests and wetlands environments, from an ecological perspective.
2. Describe the current anthropocentrically influences on these environments.
3. Relate historical and current political and social-economic conditions to current environmental issues and problems.
4. Identify critical land use issues effecting these environments
5. Assess the probable outcomes of past and current land use practices.
6. Relate three case studies to the problems, impacts, and short and long range solutions, using Costa Rica environmental model for an outside reference:
a. Loss of Amazon Rainforest
b. Loss of the Atlantic Coast Rainforest
c. Ranching in the Pantanal wetland
d. The Costa Rica model
7. Prepare an issue paper on a key environmental problem affecting Brazil from an ecological or scientific perspective, relating, for example, current land use practices, short term and long term problems, and scientific solutions.
8. On the same topic covered in No. 7, treat the problems from a political and social-economic perspective, again looking a short and long term solutions.
MODULE CONTENT
I. Background Information and historical conditions [content from Smith (1996) and Kricher (1997) and others as cited below; visuals--maps from same sources and other file material, personal 35 mm slides from past trips to Brazil]
A. Land forms, climate, vegetation, rivers, wetlands, political boundaries
1. 47.3% of S. Am
2. 8,511,965 sq km
3. 7,367 km coast line
4. Highest elevation of 3,014 m
5. Five climatic regions
a. Equatorial
b. Tropical
c. Semi-arid
d. Highland tropical
e. Subtropical
6. Temps: Amazon 22 to 26 deg F Avg range
7. Hottest part is NE: + 38 deg F
8. Curitiba may get freezing temps
9. Rainfall
a. 2,000 mm + for Amazon
b. 1,000 to 1,500 for most of Brazil
B. Major land forms in South America
1. Guiana Shield
2. Brazilian Shield
3. Argentina plateau
4. Atlantic Coast Mountains
5. Andes Mountains
C. Major River Systems
1. Amazon
2. Oroinco
3. Paraguay
D. Climate regions
1. Humid topics
2. Wet/dry
3. Andean
4. Semi-deserts
5. Deserts
E. Vegetation/ecoregions
1. Neotropical humid forests
a. In South America
b. Amazon basin contains over half of remaining RF
(1) Original Forest
(2) Original in Brazil
c. Mata Atlantica
(1) Original forest = 108,500,000 ha
(2) Present forest = 9,564,100 ha (8.8%)
2. Cerrado
a. Wet and dry climate
b. Central part of Brazil
c. Shrubby to savanna type vegetation
d. Much disturbed
e.
3. Semi-deciduous forest
a. Occurs in East near Mata Atlantica
b. Also occurs South of Amazon on in the West
c. Prominent wet and dry
d. But more precip than in Cerrado
e. 70% of leaves fall
f. Leaves generally off only 1-2 months/yr
4. Chaco
a. Southwest–contiguous with grasslands of Bolivia and Paraguay
b. Prominently grassland
c. More pronounced dry season
d. Agriculture dominated area
F. Wetlands systems
1. Coastal mangrove swamps
a. Scattered along coast line
b. Heavily impacted (but no readily available figures)
c. Important ecologically and economically
(1) protection of shore line
(2) feeding breeding area for fish and shell fish
(3) similar to temperate salt marshes
2. River Varzea floodplains
a. Mostly along Amazon and Oroinco Rivers
b. Important to productivity of Amazon and its tributaries
c. Important ecological area–wildlife and forests
3. Pantanal
a. Largest freshwater wetland in the world–139,000 km2
b. Different hydrology from varzea systems in that water slowly rises and falls in response to wet and dry system (Junk and da Silva 1994)
c. Important to sustaining dry season flow down stream in the Paraguay River
d. Basically a wet savanna
II. Present Conditions (Same sources as in I with different emphasis)
A. Rainforests
1. Extreme anthropocentric pressures
a. Amazon [show tables from Laurence (1998)]
(1) Logging
(2) Agriculture
(a) Slash and burn
(b) Ranching
(c) Fuel
b. Mata Atlantica (Figures from SOS Mata Atlantica)
(1) mostly cut
(2) oldest impact area in Brazil
(3) contains most large metropolitan in Brazil
(4) intense interests to save and restore remnants
c. Pantanal [Figures and info from Hamilton (1997), Wilcox (1992), Bucher et al. (1993), and Gottgens et al. (in press, BioScience)]
(1) 200 years of ranching
(2) clearing and burning
(3) hydrology still in tack
(4) Hidrovia project
(a) Major navigational project on Paraguay River
(b) Could change Pantanal hydrology
(5) Soy bean farming and pollution from pesticides and fertilizers
(6) Gold mining–mercury and sediments
III. Overview of the Settlement and Government of Brazil
A. History of Brazil (Will assign synoptic readings to supplement lecture, including Dean (1995), Resende-Santos (1997), Ames (1995), Brazilian Embassy (1997a), Brazilian Embassy (1997b)
1. Discovered about 1500 AD by Portuguese
2. 1532 first permanent Portuguese settlement on Sao Paulo state coast
3. Enslaved Indians to harvest brazilwood
4. Became hostile situation
5. After brazilwood came sugarcane plantations
a. African slave trade for labor in mid 1500s–3 to 4 million
b. Cleared much land for plantations
c. Caused severe land degradation
6. 1700s–gold and diamonds
a. Western expansion in to inland plateau
b. Gold and other precious minerals discovered (Minas Gerais state)
c. Boom economy
7. 1800s–coffee
a. Coffee plantations
b. Expanded into central and south Brazil
8. 1822–declared independence from Portugal
B. Governments
1. First Republic
2. New Republic (1930-1937)
a. Feeling effects of Depression and low coffee prices
3. 1938-1945
a. Government change and WWII
4. Post War Brazil
5. 1964 Revolution
a. From democratic government to military rule
b. Industrialization of Brazil
6. 1985--Re-democratization
IV. Current Social-economic conditions in Brazil
A. Population growth
1. Show table with growth rate
2. Very high growth rate in early through mid 1900s
a. Fell from 6.3 in 1960s to 1.6 in 1990s
3. Much lower since 1970
B. Trend for urbanization
C. Most large cities along Atlantic coast
D. Concentrated in industrial areas, e.g., Sao Paulo
E. More recently population flow toward to central-western and nothern regions (Mato Grosso (& du sul) and more northern states
F. Government encouraging farming in
G. Show population density table by region
V. State of the Current Natural Environment in Brazil
A. General:
1. Historically very poor land ethic (Cite Dean)
2. Human carrying capacity
3. Extensive perturbations
a. Industrialization areas (show slides of air and water pollution)
b. Massive erosion (show slides)
c. Slash and burn agriculture (slides and articles on burning)
d. Extensive water and air pollution associated with large cities (cite examples for Sao Paulo, Recife, Manaus, and Curitiba)
B. Coastal region
C. Amazon basin
D. Central Brazilian Plateau
E. Pantanal wetland
F. The big cities
VI. The Costa Rica Model
A. Environmental laws
B. Land use issues
C. Land preservation
D. Ecotourism
VII. Case Studies
A. Mata Atlantica
B. Amazon Rain Forests
C. Pantanal Wetland (see map of S. America below)
VIII. Discussion of the Issues
A. Natural environmental impacts (selected issues for discussion and student issue papers–students will generate more issues from their readings)
1. Habitat fragmentation
2. Logging Brazil's forests–not just the Amazon
3. Hydroelectric projects and degradation of river environments
4. Over fishing river systems–Amazon and Paraguay Rivers
5. Burning the landscape
6. Water pollution and loss of aquatic habitats
7. Loss of biodiversity
8. Disposition of solid waste
B. Political and economic situations (selected issues for discussion and student issue papers–students will generate more issues from their readings)
1. Impacts of an efficient government on environmental protection
2. The Brazilian education system and the impacts on an environmental ethic
3. The Green Protocol
4. Economic strain on environmental initiatives
5. Will SIVAM help protect the Amazon
6. Government policies and agricultural practices
a. soybean, pesticides, and environmental impacts
b. cattle ranching and biodiversity
7. The repercussion of the Brazilian national debt and environmental projection
8. Sewage treatment, mega cities, and the responsibilities of the states
9. To whom does the Amazon really belong–Brazil or is it part of the "world's commons"?
C. A plan??
1. Is there evidence of a government sponsored plan for dealing with the most severe environmental problems?
2. Can Brazilians learn from the U.S. experience in the response to environmental degradation?
3. Does Cardoso have an environmental plan?
4. Prognosis for reform in land use priorities
5. Can the Brazilian economy support a progressive plan for establishing appropriate land use
6. Is the current educational system in Brazil capable of effecting a change in land ethic (Will use a Brazilian speaker)
IX. The Projected Environmental Outcomes:
A. With current situation
B. With a new direction
X. Each students will develop an issue paper on the ecological consequences of a major environmental problem in Brazil (the quality of the paper will be judged based on the apparent understanding the students have of the issue and the overall quality of their references; they will also seek a critique of their paper from an environmental scientist in Brazil that the instructor will identify for the student) :
A. Define and describe it
B. Why has it occurred?
C. Why is it important?
D. Relate it to different levels of importance
1. To Brazil
2. To South America
3. To the Neotropics
4. To the World
E. Has this problem occurred elsewhere
F. What has been the role played by international financial organizations, e.g., the World Bank?
XI. Students will develop an issue paper on the environmental issue treated above, but this paper will deal mostly with the political, social, and economic aspects
A. Students are to seek a review of the paper as in IX above
B. Quality will also be judged on content and references
I. Students will present an oral argument to the class on their conclusions reached in their two papers
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brazil Instructional Module
Ronald Fortney
Salem-Teikyo University
Ames, B. 1995. Politics in Brazil, in Comparative Governance. McGraw-Hill. p. 742-795
Atlantic Coast Forest Foundation. 1992. Atlantic Coast Forest.
Brazilian Embassy. 1997. Brazil in Brief.
Brazilian Environment and Natural Resources Institute. 1998. Colonization and agrarian reform.
Breton, B. L. 1993. Voices from the Amazon. Rainforest Action Network.
Christian Science Monitor. 1997. Amazon burning worst in memory. 11 April.
da Costa, A. C. P. 1998. Sao Paulo State Secretariat organization chart.
de Lima, A. A. D. 1997. Environment and globalization: a Brazilian view. Brazilian Embassy.
Dean, Warren. 1995. With broadax and firebrand: The destruction of the Brazilian
Atlantic forest. University of California Press.
Gottgens, H., and R. H. Fortney. 1998. A comparison of the impacts of the Hidrovia to extreme modification of other large river systems, Society of Wetland Scientists Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 3.
Janzen, D. H. 1997. Wildland Biodiversity Management in the Tropics. in Biodiversity II, ed. M. L. Reaka-Kudla, D. E. Wilson, and E. O. Wilson. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C.
Kangas, P. 1997. Tropical Sustainable Development and Biodiversity. in Biodiversity II, ed. M. L. Reaka-Kudla, D. E. Wilson, and E. O. Wilson. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C.
LaFranchi, H. 1997. S. America's ‘Sleeping Giant' Opens One Eye to the World, The Christain Science Monitor, Fri., April 14.
_____. 1997. Spare the Ax, Spoil the Amazon, The Christian Science Monitor, Wed., May 14.
Laurance, W. F. 1998. A crisis in the making: responses of Amazonian forests to land use and climate change. Tree, Vol. 13, No. 10.
Lewan, Todd. 1998. Ecologists trying to restore the dwindled Atlantic Forest. Associated Press, 12 Sept.
Lynn, R. 1997a. Brazil and the USA what do we have in common? Brazilian Embassy.
Redwood, J. 1993. World bank approaches to the environment in Brazil: A review of selected projects. World Bank.
Resende-Santos, J. 1997. Fernando Henrique Cardosa Social and institutional rebuilding in Brazil. In Technopols: Freeing Politics and Markets in Latin America in the 1990s, ed. Jorge I Dominguez (University Park: Penn State Press, 1997): 145-194.
Rowen, H. 1995. Overpopulation remains world's defining crisis. In Earth's Eleventh Hour, ed. W. O. Dwyer and F. C. Leeming. Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights, MA.
Sao Paulo Environmental Secretariat. 1997. Rio on the road Agenda 21 in Sao Paulo's Daily Life.
Smith, R. L. 1996. Ecology and field biology, 5th ed. Harper Collins, New York, NY.
U.S. News and World Report. 1998. Cardoso. October???
Vandermeer, J. and I. Perfecto. 1997. Rethinking Rain Forest: Biodiversity and Social Justice. in Sources, ed. T. D. Goldfarb. Dushkin Publishing Group/Brown & Benchmark Publishers.
Wilcox, R. 1992. Cattle and Environment in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil, 187–1970.
VIDEOS
Voices of the Pantanal. 1996. Conservation International. Washington, D. C.
INTERNET URLs
Brazil Embassy Washington. 1997. Joint statement on the United States-Brazil Common Agenda for the Environment. URL: http://brasil.emb.nw.de.us/evst04us.htm.
COURSE SYLLABUS (With Brazil Module)
COURSE TITLE AND NUMBER: Environmental Issues and Policies; ENV 100
HOURS OF CREDIT: 4
DATE PREPARED: November 17, 1999
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Ronald Fortney
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS:
This course focuses on the development of concepts, identification of issues, and cognitive understanding of natural functions relative to the conservation and preservation of natural resources. It also covers modern methods for the inventory, management, and perpetuation of natural resources on a global, national, regional, and local basis. Finally, it deals with issues and concepts based on ethical, cultural, economic, esthetic, ecological, and personal perspectives as they develop at local, national, and international levels. The course will also focus on development of critical thinking skills and their application to this subject. As a capstone activity, the last four days of the course will be focused on environmental current issues and policies affecting Brazil.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this course are to:
1. Provide an overview on how people impact the quality, quantity and sustainability of natural resources on planet earth.
2. Develop an understanding of the various disciplines involved in the stewardship of natural resources and how to apply various stewardship methods to real resource management problems.
3. Discuss key federal and state laws effecting natural resource management, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act at the federal level and state laws that involve natural resource management.
4. Discuss modern concepts and paradigms in national resource management, including ecosystem management plans, which by definition is a multi-disciplinary process.
5. Develop critical thinking in students as they evaluate natural resource management issues.
6. Develop an understanding that environmental problems and concerns are actually multidisciplinary in scope and involve economics, politics, ecological principles, and sociological, religious, and cultural interactions.
7. Understand the purpose, content, process, and ultimate use of an environmental assessment and an environmental impact statement.
8. Understand and have an informed point of view on important environmental issues and policies impacting Brazil.
COMPETENCIES:
Upon successfully completing this course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of natural resource stewardship in terms of economics, politics, ecological concerns, religion, esthetics, culture, and personal beliefs.
2. Analyze the goals of environmentalists, recourse managers, and others who are involved in recourse management-oriented jobs.
3. Identify and describe the various scientific disciplines involved in natural resource stewardship.
4. Understand and be able to evaluate the ways human activities intentionally or unintentionally effect the distribution and abundance of organisms and how such activities impact natural habitats.
5. Be able to explain through verbal and written exercises the impact of human population growth and development on the populations of other organisms and on their habitats.
6. Be able to discuss resource management issues, programs, and paradigms with environmental experts and individuals in the general public.
7. Know the goals, processes, and successes/failures of the National Environmental Policy Act and other important environmental legislation and implementing regulations, including the National Endangered Species Act, federal Clean Water Act, and state mining and natural resource management laws.
8. Outline the process for preparing environmental assessments and impact statements and participate in a case study evaluation involving an environmental review process for a real project.
9. Demonstrate through verbal and written exercises an understanding of natural recourse management principles and issues on a global, national, and local basis.
10. Be able to explain the principal missions and goals of major state and federal land management agencies.
• Be able describe important environmental issues and policies affecting countries in neotropical areas, using Brazil as an example.
PREREQUISITES
BIO 15 AND 17 and ENV 5 or Instructor's Approval
CLASS ACTIVITIES:
Student activities will include:
a. Extensive readings in journal articles, reports, books, and semi-technical papers.
b. Participation in class discussions and forums on subjects and issues important in natural resources management and environmental sciences.
c. Preparation of critiques on readings and assigned topics
d. Field trips
e. Seminars on key natural resource management issues
COURSE TOPICS
Critical thinking and environmental science
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Endangered Species Act; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act
Conservation vs. preservation
Sustainable development or use of natural resources
Management for biodiversity
Endangered Species Act
Habitat fragmentation
Game species
Nongame species
Mountain top removal surface mining
Management of wilderness Areas
Management of public lands--National forests and parks and state parks and forests
The smoky bear syndrome
Old-growth forests
Introductions of invasive and exotic species
Economics of natural resource management decision-making
Environmental laws, policies, and public input
Important environmental issues and policies in Brazil
GENERAL PLAN FOR THE COURSE
This course is designed much differently from most others you have taken because you will be asked to think critically about the subject matter throughout the mod. All of our activities will focus on helping you to better understand the field of environmental science, and to come to think like a rational environmental scientist. You will be asked to continually engage your mind during class and while preparing for class. The three textbooks will be used as general resource for the course. Your will be given some specific assignments in each for the course. But, basically, they will provide, along with several references on reserve in the library and special handouts given by the professor, ready reference for the subjects covered. You will learn to connect the logic used in environmental science to the logic of your own thinking so that the subject becomes relevant to you. While you will learn some "facts" about environmental science, they will be learned in the context of learning about the logic of this field, rather than being memorized for test time.
You will be asked to bring some assignment to each class period, and each class period will generally build upon the work done in the previous class period. Each student will actively participate in class sessions, as you are asked to continually process information by using high levels of thinking--synthesis, analysis, application, etc., which will include using examples, restating information, and offering alternate points of view. You will also be involved in daily group work, self-assessment, and peer assessment. The ultimate goal is for you to learn to think critically about your thinking, so that you are able to accurately assess your strengths and weaknesses and to take charge of your thinking, and all of this while you engage your mental resources studying issues in natural resource management and environmental science.
The course is designed so that on a typical day students will engage in small group discussions of subjects previous assigned. Students will also engage in a review of individual papers prepared on the subject under consideration. Individual student papers will be critiqued by a small peer group in the class and returned to the student author with comments on improving the paper. Critique forms will be provided. (See section below on student papers.)
The small groups may be assigned topics or questions related to the subject of the papers for discussion, after which the subjects or questions will be discussed by the whole class, or each group may be given the same assignment. An individual from each group will be asked to summarize the small group discussions and to lead the discussion as a routine part of the course. Each student will, in other words, be a facilitator at least twice during the course.
A real project with real environmental consequences will be evaluated by the class. The project for this course is the North Fork of the Hughes River Impoundment proposed by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly the SCS). Each student will have an opportunity to prepare a critique of the project based on a site visit, interviews with project authorities, and a review of the official project files. An optional written project review will be due at the end of the course. (See attached schedule.) The final activity for the course is a public meeting in which each student is responsible for presenting a formal presentation in which an environmental issue discussed during the course. Topic must have approval of instructor. The student must assume the role of a party (citizen, agency, company, etc.) involved with or otherwise has a vested interest in the issue.
During the course, a series of seminars on major environmental science issues will be held on campus. Student attendance is required. The presenters will also spend time in the class in further discussions with the students.
Students are required to attend two field trips: including a trip to a mountain top removal mine and one to a public recreation area. Additionally, there will be guest lectures and special seminars to attend. (Note: The schedule for these activities will be set about one month before the course begins.)
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
To successfully pass the course, students must complete the following assignments:
1) Critically read assigned papers and researched material, prepare a paper on the subject of the assignment, actively participate in class discussions, and perform peer critiques of other students' papers. A minimum of 12 papers will be written, including two on environmental issues in Brazil as a representative of neotropical environments..
2) Attend two field trips and all seminars.
3) Orally present and defend your conclusions in your two papers on Brazil.
4) Use e-mail to contact a Brazilian scientist to obtain critiques of your two papers on Brazil.
5) Pass the final exam, which is a take home test. It is part of this syllabus.
6) Maintain a portfolio of class written assignments and other course entries which must be turned in at the end of the course.
7) Function as a discussion facilitator for the class.
8) Prepare a Self-Evaluation in which you "make a case" for receiving a particular grade using criteria provided in class and citing evidence from your work during the mod.
PAPERS, CRITIQUES, AND PORTFOLIO
With the exception of days when an all-day field trip is scheduled, students will be responsible for preparing and bringing one or two papers which were assigned the previous day. The papers will deal with the topic or topics scheduled for discussion the day the paper(s) is due. The first version of the paper is considered a draft, for which a grade will not be given. Based on peer critique, class discussion, and follow-up revisions, a final version will be submitted the next day at the beginning of class. Therefore, the daily routine for preparing papers is as follows:
DAY 1
Assignment of topic(s)--student prepares draft paper or papers
DAY 2
Submit questions on topic for the day
Peer review of paper
Group/class discussion of topic of paper
Revision of paper
Prepares draft on new topic
Day 3
Submit questions on topic for the day
Submit final version of first paper
Peer review of second paper
Group/class discussion of subject of second paper
Prepares draft of third paper
Day 4
Etcetera
There will be occasional lectures. Some will be by guests who are experts in a topic to be covered in an issue paper. For Brazil, there will be a two lectures by your instructor, plus a lecture/discussion by a visiting Brazilian scientist.
All written assignments, drafts and finals, plus peer critiques, in the course are to be maintained in a three-ring binder (portfolio). The papers are to be ordered chronologically form first to last written. The front cover of the binder is have the course name and number and the student's name clearly shown.
A list of the criteria for grading papers is attached to this syllabus. The same basic criteria will be used to evaluate the final exam as noted later in the syllabus.
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
Package of 3x5 note cards
1 ½ inch 3-ring notebook
Notebooks--field and classroom
Two computer disks
REQUIRED TEXTS
Cunningham, W. P., and B. W Saigo. 1996. Environmental Science, Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
Goldfarb, T. D. 1995. Taking Sides. Six ed. The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.
Goldfarb, T. D. 1997. Sources. The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.
Environment. 1998/99. Edited by J. L. Allen. Duskin Publishing Group, Inc.
OTHER REQUIRED READING
There will be an extensive collection of references on reserve in the library. These are for use in preparing your issue papers. They will be organized by topic. For many journal articles, a minimum of three copies will be on reserve. There will be a special group of papers dealing with Brazil. You should review them prior to the last four class days.
GRADING
Your course grade is based on a percentage of a total point score:
A - 90 to 100%
B - 80 to 89.5%
C - 70 to 79.5%
D - 60 to 69.5%
F - 0 to 59.5%
POSSIBLE POINTS:
Written Assessments:
Specific topic papers--12 @ 50 points each = 600
(Lowest score for a paper will be dropped)
Critiques--2 @ 25 points each = 50
Portfolio/journal = 25
Final = 200
Self-Evaluation = 50 _________
925
Course Activities:
Daily class participation--10 point/day (Max 180 pts.) = 180
Field Trips–2 trips at 25 points/trip = 50
Seminars--3 at 10 points each = 30
Two oral presentations--25 points each = 50 _________
305
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS 1235
OTHER NOTEWORTHY COURSE INFORMATION
You will not do well in the course unless you attend class sessions daily.
You may be asked to leave class if you are not prepared!
In fact, the course is designed so that students must bring prepared materials to class each day.
Class will begin a 9:00 am daily, except earlier for days with field trips.
Being late for class is unacceptable.
Extensive reference materials is on reserve at the library. You cannot pass the course unless you use the reserved materials as well as research subjects for your own references.
All written assignments must be typed using a word processing software program so revisions can be efficiently completed, i.e., you need a computer.
Tobacco products are not permitted in class.
You will be given some regularly scheduled class time to complete library research.
You will need sturdy hiking shoes or boots for the field trips. Taking rain gear is advisable.
If, for a legitimate reason, e.g., required attendance of a school-sanctioned function, you must miss class, you must make arrangements to complete assignments prior to the date you will miss class.
FINAL EXAM
For your final exam, you are to select one of the three questions listed below:
This test is a "take home for the mod" exam and may be developed throughout the course. It is designed to assess your critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as your apply the same to environmental science. Your answer will be judged for its clarity, relevance, consistency, logic, depth, coherence, and fairness. More specifically, the reader will be asking the following questions:
1) Is the question (or questions) at issue well stated? Is it clear and unbiased? Does the expression of the question do justice to the complexity of the matter at issue?
2) Does the writer cite relevant evidence, experiences, and/or relevant information essential to the issue?
3) Does the writer clarify key concepts when necessary?
4) Does the writer show a sensitivity to what he or she is assuming or taking for granted (insofar as those assumptions might reasonably be questioned)?
5) Does the writer develop a definite line of reasoning, explaining well how he or she is arriving at his or her conclusions?
6) Is the writer's reasoning well-supported?
7) Does the writer show a sensitivity to alternative points of view or lines of reasoning? Does he or she consider and respond to objections framed from other points of view?
8) Does the writer show a sensitivity to the implications and consequences of the position he or she has taken?
QUESTIONS?
Question #1:
The nation is facing a variety of ecological problems that have the following general form: an established practice, whether on the part of business and industry or on the part of the public, is contributing to serious health problems for a large number of people. At the same time it would be costly to modify the practice so as to reduce the health problem. People often say that the answer is one of achieving a "balance" between the amount of money we spend to correct the problem and the number of lives we would save by that expenditure. Develop a point of view and some plausible criteria for telling how one would determine this "balance" or a position to the left or right of a balance. Make sure you address any dilemmas inherent in your strategy for solving such problems.
Question #2
What is an environmental ethic? This question may appear more simplistic than the first. However, as you consider it, you will conclude that it requires logic, relevant information on current topics, an historical perspective environmentalism, and facts and specific circumstances that support your treatise. As in number one, develop a point of view and plausible criteria to tell you when you have reached your goal.
Question #3
What are the important aspects of economics of natural resource management and land preservation? Develop an argument for evaluating the economic and social impacts of having a well-balanced resource conservation and preservation programs in the world. Apply the approach as outlined in question one. Contrast the concepts you develop with important current environmental protocols and programs in Brazil